Before transitioning to pickleball in 2022, twin brothers Hunter Johnson and Yates Johnson were tennis aficionados—and their father, Jeff, has been sitting courtside for it all. 

Jeff recently shared insight into the sports journey that eventually led Hunter and Yates into America's fastest-growing sport.

“I put a racket in their hand when they were two years old, and from then on, they’ve played. They were very good at all sports, and it came down to when they were in the 11^th grade, they had to make a decision whether they were going to do baseball or tennis, and we chose tennis. They played on tour, won a bunch of titles, and beat all the top guys,” said Johnson. “Just to see the progress from both of them who’ve been putting the work in is great. You’ve got to put the work in, because if you don’t, nothing like that can happen.”

But as much as they loved tennis, they knew it wouldn’t last forever. 

“They played pro doubles in tennis for eight years, but tennis takes a big toll on the body—shoulder, knees, hips—and it’s more violent than pickleball because of that overhead serve,” said Johnson. “That’s what kills your shoulders, elbows, and wrists.”

Johnson witnessed that first hand as a tennis coach.

But as pickleball grew in popularity, the Johnson twins were thinking: Maybe they should start playing pickleball.

“Yates actually wrote down a list of the pros and cons for pro tennis versus pro pickleball, and pickleball won hands down. The pros were more money, less injuries, less travel. We used to go to Europe for 13 weeks and play in nine different countries. It’s exhausting. Having pickleball in the U.S., and we live in Texas, so we’re halfway between the West Coast and East Coast. It’s more fun. The people are nicer, and I think it’s just a better sport. And I’m a tennis guy. If a kid would come up to me and say 'Hey coach, should I pick tennis or pickleball?' 100 percent of the time, I tell them pickleball,” explained Johnson.

“It’s because tennis takes a lot of time to get very, very good at. If you’re not playing five hours a day and you started playing at five years old, you’re not gonna make it. Pickleball is easy to pick up, but it’s very hard to master, so you can go out and play pickleball having never played before and have a great time. In tennis, you can’t do that. It’s impossible, and it’s just too hard,” he added.

Johnson has certainly enjoyed the pro pickleball life. 

“I travel to about 70% of the tournaments with them. I’m semi-retired now ,so it's fun watching them,” he mentioned. “It’s good to have a family sport because we’re a close-knit family.”

Johnson also likes to dink around with other pro parents. 

“I play with Thomas Wilson’s parents, who are very good,” he shared. “We all live in the same area, so we have a good time out there.” 

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